Outside the box: a British designer puts soul into buildings

Looking at images of projects done by Heatherwick Studio, you can’t help wondering if they are mere concepts residing virtually in the computer or things that exist in real life.

The man behind the studio, Thomas Heatherwick, 45, is a British designer who is lauded around the world for his creativity in architecture, urban infrastructure, design and strategic thinking.

Heatherwick Studio’s renowned projects include the UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the Olympic Cauldron for the 2012 London Olympic Games and the design for London’s new double-decker bus.

Having visited Hong Kong numerous times, Heatherwick quickly admitted he loves this city for the extraordinary balance between its urban area and its natural landscape.

In his mind’s eye, he sees nature like a pair of hands holding up the city.

Heatherwick is deeply impressed by the easy access to mountains and the sea in Hong Kong.

Despite the city’s skyrocketing land prices, he hopes Hong Kong can preserve those valuable aspects forever.

As a boy, Heatherwick was fascinated by mechanics.

He loved disassembling and reassembling all kinds of electronic devices in his bedroom.

He also spent hours at a time in his grandfather’s house, reading books about Victorian technology.

Heatherwick jokes that his studio is no different from his childhood bedroom, just a larger version of it.

The studio is where he and his staff build miniatures of their architectural designs before finalizing the blueprints.

Heatherwick’s mission is to master his craft and to bring his ideas to reality.

“In actualizing the ideas, you will learn much more, which will lead you to the next creation,” he said.

Heatherwick trained in three-dimensional design in Manchester and at the Royal College of Art in London, where he met design guru Terence Conran, who later described him as “the Leonardo da Vinci of our times”.

Soon after he graduated in 1994 at the age of 24, Heatherwick founded Heatherwick Studio.

He explained his philosophy simply: “Why do we keep creating new things? Because the existing ones are not good enough, pushing us to make changes.”

Heatherwick found the buildings that were being designed in the 1990s soulless and cold.

He decided to create buildings with a soul and with enhanced aesthetic qualities and eco-efficiency.

Heatherwick also considers himself a problem solver.

For instance, when designing the new bus for London in 2012, Heatherwick greatly improved the lighting, introducing much more natural light into the vehicle, and making the public space more welcoming.

Asked to design the learning hub of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, Heatherwick and his team were given a challenging budget, slightly more than the cost of building a car park.

Yet they came up with a teaching complex with 12 tapered towers connected to one another other, where the atrium space is at the heart of the design, encouraging students to gather and stay.

However, Heatherwick’s innovative buildings are not popular with everyone.

Critics derided his award-winning UK Pavilion — Seed Cathedral — at the Shanghai World Expo as “fluffy” and “empty”.

London’s Garden Bridge, which is due to start construction in January, has drawn much criticism for its high construction and maintenance costs.

“It would be weird if it drew no criticism,” Heatherwick said.

“After all, it is about building a bridge over the River Thames.”

He believes that the media has simply exaggerated the views of critics and supporters, making the project controversial.

“In fact, over 87 percent of consultation respondents were supportive of the scheme,” Heatherwick said.

He said the bridge will serve as the best spot for pedestrians to stop and enjoy the remarkable river setting and unparalleled views of the city.

The British Council exhibition “New British Inventors: Inside Heatherwick Studio” is at PMQ in Central until Sept. 23.An installation of Heatherwick Studio’s spun chairs is at Pacific Place in Admiralty until Sept. 24.

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing said on Friday he deeply regrets that recent comments he made regarding protests in the financial hub were misrepresented and reiterated that any actions that violate the rule of...

As violence over the extradition bill saga continues to spiral, we find ourselves on the brink of self-destruction. Chief Executive Carrie Cheng Yuet-ngor has adopted a flexible and mobile strategy by first suspending the...

About 700 years ago, the Chinese used mooncakes to spread revolutionary messages, using the Mid-Autumn Festival to create special pastries that served a hidden purpose. Well, we are now in our own “revolution of...

Technologies such as face recognition and radio frequency identification (RFID) have sparked privacy controversies around the globe, with people fretting about systems that can be used for surveillance. In Hong Kong, a government initiative...

Today quite a lot of secondary school students in Hong Kong display a strong capacity for critical and independent thinking. And the reason why they are getting so deeply involved in the ongoing social...

Hong Kong activists plan to combine pro-democracy protests with traditional lantern celebrations marking the Mid-Autumn Festival this weekend, after a brief lull in sometimes violent demonstrations that have rocked the Chinese-ruled city since June....

Due to insurance issues, it remains uncertain whether Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor can deliver her annual policy address in the Legislative Council chamber as scheduled, although construction contractors have been working around the clock to...

Following the months-long anti-extradition bill movement, there had been plenty of chatter that some Hong Kong citizens were facing extra scrutiny when they were crossing the border and traveling to mainland China. According to discussions...